SIR TREVOR BROOKING insists Celtic keeper Fraser Forster booked his ticket to the World Cup thanks to his dazzling displays in the Champions League.

The former West Ham and England star reckons the Hoops No.1 has had an outstanding two years in Europe’s premier event which culminated in being named in Roy Hodgson’s final 23-man squad for Brazil.

Forster saw off stiff competition from Norwich City’s John Ruddy to be named as third-choice keeper behind Manchester City’s Joe Hart and West Brom shot-stopper Ben Foster.

He enjoyed 15 minutes of game time on Saturday night in England’s 0-0 draw with Honduras.

And Brooking is adamant Forster deserves to be there.

The England director of football – who will step down from his role after the World Cup – singled out Forster’s performance in Celtic’s 2-1 Champions League win over Barcelona at Parkhead in November 2012 as the night the Geordie came to English prominence.

Brooking said: “Celtic have been dominant in the Scottish league in the past few seasons and I know that Fraser broke the Scottish shut-out record this season for consecutive clean sheets.

“It was Forster’s Champions League displays over the past couple of campaigns that brought him on to England’s radar.

“I remember seeing Fraser keep Barcelona at bay at Celtic Park when Celtic beat the Spaniards and Roy Hodgson realised then that Forster was someone who was worth having a look at.

“That is why he was brought into the England set-up for them to analyse.

“He has played some of Europe’s finest clubs in the Champions League group stages recently with Celtic and there is no sterner test of your credentials than that.

“Fraser has a lot of build and size and he is the kind of keeper who dominates his penalty box.

“He has come through the Champions League tests at club level with flying colours.

“Ruddy was Fraser’s main competitor for the third England keeper’s jersey.

“Ruddy has had a difficult season with Norwich being relegated.

“Fraser is in the England World Cup team on merit and fully deserves to be there.

“I am sure it is a huge boost not only to the player himself but for Scottish football and Celtic that Fraser is travelling to Brazil with England for the World Cup.”

Brooking – who scored the winning goal in the 1980 FA Cup Final for the Hammers against Arsenal – was at Wembley when Forster made his England debut against Chile in a 2-0 defeat back in November.

However, the ex-England midfielder is certain Forster will thrive on being around the likes of Hart and Foster.

Brooking said: “I saw Fraser make his England debut the night they lost 2-0 to Chile at Wembley.

“Chile showed how good they were and brought England straight back down to earth just days after we had qualified for the World Cup finals.

“That was Fraser’s first taste of international football and he will benefit greatly from being around the likes of Joe and Ben.

“Fraser will learn a lot from just being in their company as well as the experience of being at a World Cup tournament.”

But Brooking refused to be drawn into whether the former Newcastle ace would end up plying his trade back in the English Premiership.

The 65-year-old said: “There has been a lot of speculation concerning Fraser’s next career move.

“It would be unfair for me to comment on that. His future may depend on what happens now that Neil Lennon has left Celtic.”